Four suspects are held without bail

Saturday

Apr 20, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Three home-invasion suspects with alleged ties to a white supremacist group were ordered held without bail Friday, as was a Sturbridge farmer accused of hiring the men to break a Dudley couple’s legs over a drug debt.

Aaron Hadley and Dennis Burke, both of Southbridge, and Ryan Cross of Fillmore, N.Y., are awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on charges stemming from a Dec. 13 home invasion at 42 Oxford St., Dudley. Investigators allege the three men and a co-defendant, Darrell Friedland of Southbridge, were hired by 61-year-old Jeffrey Hoenig of Sturbridge to break the legs of the home-invasion victims over drug money owed to Mr. Hoenig.

Judge James R. Lemire ordered Mr. Hadley, Mr. Burke, Mr. Cross and Mr. Hoenig held without bail Friday after a dangerousness hearing in Worcester Superior Court. The judge issued the order after finding that no conditions of the men’s release would ensure the safety of Gary Bergeron and Melissa Christian, the alleged victims of the home invasion.

Mr. Bergeron suffered head and leg injuries, and Ms. Christian suffered a leg injury, according to authorities.

Police and prosecutors said Mr. Friedland, 33, who was arrested Dec. 28 after allegedly firing a gun outside a bar, later admitted his involvement in the home invasion and implicated the other suspects. Mr. Friedland had previously been ordered held without bail.

State police Sgt. Michael Sampson testified during an earlier court hearing in the case that Mr. Friedland acknowledged being a captain in the Aryan Brotherhood and identified Mr. Hadley, 41, and Mr. Cross, 36, as members of the group. Sgt. Sampson said Mr. Friedland told him Mr. Burke, 26, was an Aryan Brotherhood prospect.

In court papers filed in support of his request that the suspects be held without bail for up to 90 days while awaiting trial, Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Quinlan said Mr. Friedland, Mr. Hadley, Mr. Cross and Mr. Burke hung out at a Southbridge auto repair shop and were involved “in dealing drugs, planning home invasions and making themselves available for strong-arm work.”

The prosecutor described the Aryan Brotherhood as “a white supremacist group with its origins in prisons.”

Citing testimony elicited during a Jan. 9 dangerousness hearing in Dudley District Court, Mr. Quinlan said in his brief that Mr. Bergeron and Ms. Christian were engaged in illegal drug transactions with Mr. Hoenig in fall 2012, and that Mr. Hoenig believed Mr. Bergeron owed him $1,300.

The prosecutor said the evidence showed Mr. Hoenig visited Mr. Bergeron at his home and demanded the money and later called him on a cellphone and “threatened to hire someone to break his legs.”

Mr. Hoenig offered a shotgun, a handgun and a quantity of Percocets as payment for the home invasion, and the men he hired agreed to the deal, according to Mr. Quinlan.

Mr. Friedland, Mr. Hadley, Mr. Cross and Mr. Burke were armed with pipes, a bat and a shillelagh when they carried out the attack, the prosecutor said in his memo.

A Jan. 1 search of Mr. Hoenig’s home resulted in the seizure of a loaded handgun hidden under a mattress, three long guns and a large quantity of ammunition, according to Mr. Quinlan.

“From Hoenig himself, police recovered a KKK member-in-good-standing medallion. Police also saw other blatantly racist material there, including a cartoon of a hooded Klansman walking an African-American on a leash, and KKK-type figurines,” the prosecutor wrote.

In reviewing records of Mr. Friedland’s cellphone calls for Dec. 12 and Dec. 13, investigators saw phone numbers they associated with Mr. Hoenig, Mr. Hadley, Mr. Cross and Mr. Burke, according to Mr. Quinlan. Judge Lemire has scheduled a May 1 hearing on Mr. Quinlan’s request for a court order compelling the production of various cellphone records.

Mr. Quinlan cited the criminal records of all four suspects in his request that they be held without bail.

Mr. Hoenig’s lawyer, Richard A. Eustis, described his client as “a gentleman who lives on disability because he has a myriad of serious medical conditions.” He said there was no evidence placing Mr. Hoenig at the scene of the alleged home invasion. He also attacked the credibility of Ms. Christian and Mr. Friedland, saying Ms. Christian lied to police, and that Mr. Friedland implicated his client only after being charged with an unrelated crime.

Mr. Burke’s lawyer, Daniel T. Doyle, said there was no credible evidence linking his client to the crime and asked that his bail be set at $500 cash.

Mr. Cross’ lawyer, Christoper P. LoConto, accused prosecutors of playing up the suspects’ alleged ties to the Aryan Brotherhood “to make the allegations seem more violent.” He asked that Mr. Cross’ bail be set at $5,000 cash.